Collapsible anchor



Feb. 8, 1955 Q MOREL 2,701,539

COLLAPSIBLE ANCHOR Filed Jan. 16, 1953 m i2 TE;- 4 l6, as INVENTOR. 38 30 2Q Clare/1x5. Mona! BY v A TTOR/VEYJ' United States Patent COLLAPSIBLE ANCHOR Clarence E. Morel, Sandwich, Ill. Application January 16, 1953, Serial No. 331,602

3 Claims. (Cl. 114-208) This invention, summarized briefly, is a collapsible anchor having pivoted prongs locked in collapsed and extended positions by a locking plate that is shiftable longitudinally of a supporting body on which the prongs are mounted, to selected positions in one of which it holds the prongs against movement from a collapsed position, and in the other of which it holds the prongs against movement from an extended position.

The main objects of the invention are to provide an anchor that will be inexpensive; will be rugged; compact; and will be provided with a locking means that can be operated swiftly and easily.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the anchor, the prongs being extended;

Figure 2 is atop plan view;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view on line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal section taken substantially on line 4-4 of Figure 2.

My anchor is formed with a relatively elongated, cylindrical, solidly formed body having an end to end axial bore 12. Spaced ninety degrees apart about the circumference of the body are side slots 14 of rectangular cross section, extending the length of the body. At the lower end of the body bottom recesses 16 are provided, each recess 16 communicating at its outer end with the adjacent end of slots 14. Recesses 16 extend radially of the body, and have their inner walls disposed at an acute angle to the longitudinal center line of the body.

Top grooves 18, 19 are formed in the top surface of the body, these grooves extending diametrically of the body and crossing at the center of the body. The grooves 18, 19 communicate, at the center of the body, with the adjacent end of the axial bore 12. The groove 18 is substantially shallower than the groove 19.

In the bottom end of the body, the bore 12 is counterbored to form a spring-receiving recess 20.

Overlying the bottom end of the body is a circular lock plate 22 having a threaded center opening 24 in which is engaged the complementarily threaded bottom end of a lock rod 26 slidable and rotatable in bore 12. The upper end of the lock rod projects above the upper end surface of body 10, and is formed with an eye 28 that constitutes both a handle and a means for attaching a rope or other flexible element, not shown.

Coiled about locking rod 26 within recess 20 is a spring 30 held under compression between the inner end of the recess 20 and the lock plate 22. The spring normally tends to urge the lock plate away from the body 10. However, movement of the lock plate away from the body is limited through the provision of diametrically opposite, radially projecting stop pins 32 carried by rod 26 adjacent the eye 28. The stop pins or locking lugs 32 can be selectively disposed in either groove 18 or groove 19.

A series of prongs 34 have free or outer ends 36 that are beveled or pointed to facilitate engagement of said prongs in the bottom of the body of water in which the anchor is used. The inner ends of the prongs are partially beveled as at 38, the beveled surfaces of the inner or lower ends of the prongs extending through approximately half the areas of the lower end surfaces of the prongs.

Adjacent the lower ends thereof, the prongs are pivoted upon pins 40 extending transversely therethrough 2,701,539 Patented Feb. 8, 1955 V 2 across the respective side slots 14. The outer surface of body 10 can be recessed as at 42 to facilitate mounting of the pins 40 in the body.

In use, the anchor normally appears as in Figures 2 and 3. In this inoperative position, prongs 34 are swung inwardly into the side slots 14 so as to be collapsed against the body and not project outwardly from the circumference of the body. When the prongs are in this position, the locking lugs 32 are disposed in the shallow groove 18. Therefore, although spring 30 can urge plate 22 away from body 10 a short distance, the locking lugs 32 will prevent movement of the locking plate 22 beyond a position shown in Figure 3. In this position of the locking plate, the lower ends of prongs 34 are engaged by the circumference of plate 22 against swinging movement inwardly of body 10. Prongs 34 are thus locked in their associated side slots 14.

When the anchor is to be used, eye 28 is grasped and pulled upwardly a distance sufiicient to disengage lugs 32 from groove 18. Eye 28 is then rotated through ninety degrees, to align lugs 32 with the deep locking groove 19. This permits springs 30 to urge locking plate 22 a sulficient distance away from body 10 to permit the prongs 34 to be swung to the extended positions thereof shown in Figure 1.

Movement of the prongs 34 to their extended positions will dispose the lower ends thereof within the recesses 16. Eye 28 is now pulled upwardly to disengage locking lugs 32 from the deep groove 19, after which the eye and rod are rotated through ninety degrees once again, in either direction, to align locking lugs 32 with groove 18 once again. The eye is now released, permitting lugs 32 to drop into groove 18, thus causing the lower ends of the prongs to be gripped between the plate 22 and the grooved bottom surface of body 10.

The construction illustrated and described, of course, affords a positive lock for the prongs both in their collapsed and extended positions, and it will be readily seen that the lock is capable of swift and easy operation in either instance.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A collapsible anchor comprising: a body having an axial bore; a lock rod sliding in said bore longitudinally of the body; a lock plate exteriorly of one end of said body and carried by the adjacent one end of said rod; prongs pivotally mounted on the body to swing between opposite extreme positions in one of which they are collapsed against the body and in the other of which they project outwardly from the body, said prongs having portions adjacent their pivotal mountings of a length such that they may be engaged by said lock plate; said rod when shifted in one direction, disposing the lock plate for engagement with said portions to hold the prongs between the lock plate and the body in each position to which they are swung, said rod, when shifted in an opposite direction, being adapted to dispose the lock plate clear of said prongs to permitmovement of the prongs to the respective extreme positions thereof; and lock means interengaging between the lock rod and body respectively for holding the lock rod and plate in selected positions to which they are shifted.

2. A collapsible anchor comprising: a body having an axial bore, said body having an upper end surface formed with two crossing grooves one of which is of substantially greater depth than the other, the body having side slots extending longitudinally thereof and spaced about the circumference of the body, said body having a lower end surface formed with aplurality of radial recesses communicating with the respective side slots; a lock rod slidable and rotatable in said bore; a lock plate carried by the rod and underlying the lower end surface of the body; a spring interposed between the body and plate tensioned to normally urge the plate longitudinally away from the body; locking lugs on the rod engageable in selected grooves of the upper end surface of the body, said lugs when engaged in the groove of greater depth being adapted to permit movement of the lock plate under the pressure of the spring, to a position in which the lock plate is spaced a substantial distance away from the lower end surface of the body, the locking lugs when engaged in the shallower groove of the upper end surface of the body being adapted to space the locking plate a relatively short distance away from the lower end surface of the body; and a plurality of prongs spaced circumferentially about the body and pivotally connected to the body by pins located in said slots, said prongs having portions adjacent their pin connections of a length such as they may be engaged by said lock plate, said prongs bei g swingable radially of the body to opposite extreme positions in one of which the prongs are recessed within 2 the side slots of the body and in the other of which the prongs have one end extending into the recesses of the lower end surface of the body, said lock plate in the first position thereof being spaced to clear the prongs for swinging movement between the respective positions of the prongs, the lock plate in the second-named position thereof being so disposed as to engage the prongs at 10- cations spaced peripherally of the lock plate, thus to lock the prongs in the side slots, said lock plate, in the secondnamed position thereof, being further spaced to bear against the prongs in the extended positions of the prongs, thereby to lock said prongs in the extended position thereof.

3. The collapsible anchor of claim 1 wherein said lock means comprises locking lugs on the rod adjacent the gthier end thereof engageable with the other end of the References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 856,791 Mingus June 11, 1907 1,295,076 Sherman et a1 Feb. 18, 1919 1,753,737 Bohm Apr. 8, 1930 2,084,233 Zepa June 15, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS 76,773 Norway May 2, 1950 

